The present invention generally relates to a tire carrier for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a secondary latch for maintaining the tire carrier in a stowed position.
Vehicles with inflatable tires such as passenger cars, light and heavy duty trucks, tractor trailers, buses, commercial delivery vehicles, among other motorized forms of transportation and trailers pulled by such vehicles are conventionally equipped with spare tires. Some spare tires are stored under the vehicle using a tire carrier which includes a tire winch for raising and lowering the spare tire between a raised or stored position and a lowered or accessed position. The winch typically raises and lowers the spare tire using a flexible member such as a cable or cord which is wound and unwound on a spool or reel. A secondary latch is often provided to secure the spare tire in the stored position. If the flexible member or winch fails while the spare tire is in the stored position, the secondary latch ensures that the spare tire remains in the stored position.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,341, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses a secondary latch for a tire carrier. The secondary latch includes a latch member which is pivotably mounted to swing a pair of arcuate fingers between a locked position and an unlocked position. The lock member is biased to the locked position by gravity. The lock member is selectively pivoted to the unlocked position by a lever which is activated by a cranking member when engaging the winch.
While these secondary latches may effectively retain the spare tire in the stored position under some conditions, they have numerous shortcomings. For example, loads are transmitted through a relatively small contact area, a relatively large number of parts are required, they are relatively difficult to assemble, and relatively large number of high tolerance components are required. Additionally, the operator is unaware of the secondary latch and whether or not it is working properly. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a secondary latch which the operator is aware of, the operator can determine if it is functioning properly, has improved load distribution, has reduced weight, has ease of assembly, and has a reduced number of total parts and high tolerance parts.
The present invention provides a latch mechanism for a vehicle which overcomes at least some of the above-noted problems of the related art. According to the present invention, a tire carrier assembly comprises, in combination, a tire carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire, a winch assembly operably connected to the tire carrier to raise and lower the tire carrier between a stowed position wherein the tire is inaccessible and a deployed position wherein the tire is accessible, and a latch assembly. The latch assembly including at least one latch member and an actuator adapted to selectively move the latch member between a locking position wherein the latch member prevents movement of the tire carrier from the stowed position to the deployed position and an unlocking position wherein the latch member permits movement of the tire carrier from the stowed position to the deployed position. The actuator includes a control member visible to the operator. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the actuator includes a push-pull cable and the control member is a pull handle connected to the push-pull cable.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a tire carrier assembly for storing a spare tire on a motor vehicle comprises, in combination, a tire carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire, a winch assembly operably connected to the tire carrier to raise and lower the tire carrier between a stowed position wherein the tire is inaccessible and a deployed position wherein the tire is accessible, and a latch assembly. The latch assembly includes a pair of hooks and an actuator adapted to selectively move the hooks between locking and unlocking positions. The hooks are pivotable between the locking position wherein the hooks are engageable with the tire carrier to prevent movement of the tire carrier from the stowed position to the deployed position and the unlocking position wherein the hooks are not engageable with the tire carrier to permit movement of the tire carrier from the stowed position to the deployed position. Various preferred embodiments are disclosed wherein the hooks are biased to either the unlocking position or the locking position and the actuator either automatically moves the hooks or manually moves the hooks.
From the foregoing disclosure and the following more detailed description of various preferred embodiments it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a significant advance in the technology and art of latching mechanisms. Particularly significant in this regard is the potential the invention affords for providing a light weight, high quality, feature-rich, low cost assembly. Additional features and advantages of various preferred embodiments will be better understood in view of the detailed description provided below.